TentenTen
by UknownHero
Summary: Based on Ben 10. Tenten never thought she would wield the power of the Tailed Beasts at the palm of her hands, er, wrists. But power like that won't stay quiet for very long. She must now learn how to unleash the full potential of the Akuma Braces and defeat those after its power... and eventually become one of the greatest legends in the Elemental Nations.
1. Chapter 1: Tenten

This is a fic were its title came before the actual plot. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome the first chapter of (the dumbest title I've ever made up) TentenTen. Yes, you have clicked onto a story where I proceed to somehow justify why this story is called that. It does have elements of Ben 10, but don't get me wrong, it is not an actual crossover. All you get is someone turning into different forms. I don't know if this stupid thing has a life, I don't know if I can do this right considering that this is my first Naruto fic, and there is probably someone else who has done this before. Now, I am aware a majority of people don't exactly read this thing but _please_ , for the love of God, someone suggest an actual plot because past Chapter 1 it's either gonna be filler or I just follow the plot of canon with Tenten in it.

And who wants to read about the Wave Arc for the millionth time!? I have another story idea in my head that finishes that in three to four punches.

Hoo… boy, this is gonna be freaking stupid.

New Game… Start!

Chapter 1: Tenten

My name is Tenten. No last name, don't ask. 13 years old. Skilled in bukijutsu, fuinjutsu and an official genin of the Hidden Leaf Village, otherwise known as Konohagakure. I am a part of a team with Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee, both very skilled in taijutsu thanks to how they were born, with my sensei being Might Guy, who is _the_ best taijutsu specialist in the village.

As you can see, my team is seems to be… normal. A standard three man team, with a focus on close quarters combat, with a good jonin sensei to teach us all about the world of ninjas.

Kami, I wish I could say that.

Neji has… issues. A lot of issues. So many issues that it overshadows the number of issues of a magazine. Yes, I might be exaggerating, but that what it feels like. Then you have Lee. Okay, I understand. He wants to compensate for his lack of usage in chakra but there is such a thing as overcompensation. And he directly takes after sensei, who I swear are related in some way and every time they do that "hugging during sunset" jutsu one more time I will stab them and bomb their spandex. And _no_ , I am not usually like this! I got used to that six months ago after some soul searching and realizing I kinda like it (Except the whole 'Neji' thing. If I had any idea how to solve it, I will)!

I was the one to keep them grounded and yet I feel like I'm floating away into the sky much faster than them.

I'm just… stressed. I need to get this off my chest after what happened earlier.

Maybe I should just start from where everything began. It was a couple of days ago, where I was on a C-Rank…

 **-101010-**

The wind rushing through her tied-up hair. The sounds of nature around her. The satisfying thuds and whistles as she flew through the air. Tenten had to admit, no matter how dangerous being a ninja was, there was always a feeling of freedom she felt every time she left the village. No longer confined to intimidating walls and holding hands with figures of authorities, guiding her down a path she didn't choose. No longer just a little girl learning how to fight with just sticks and stones.

She was a ninja. A protector and-

"YYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"THAT'S RIGHT LEE! KEEP IT UP! LET YOUR YOUTH AND DETERMINATION SHINE!"

"I really wish they would just keep quiet. I can feel my brain cells kill themselves by just being around them."

"I really wish I was on another team…" Tenten deadpanned quietly as she and her team jumped on tree branch after tree branch, every leap getting them a little closer to home. They had just finished wiping out a small bandit camp yesterday that was near Konoha, who robbed those seeking sanctuary into the village. ANBU were dispatched after they were finished, arresting any living bandits and making sure any possessions they stole went back to their owners. Tenten had to admit it wasn't the most difficult mission. Turns out those bandits were able to rob people because they had some very menacing-looking weapons, but in reality a toddler could wield a knife better than them.

Tenten had an enjoyable time showing them what a real weapons expert could really do.

"Team! It's getting late! We should find a clear area and set up camp soon! We'll make it to the village tomorrow!" Guy announced. While Lee whined, expressing that he wanted to keep going, Tenten and Neji breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike their bushy-eyed teammate (and one other person), they didn't have his endless enthusiasm and stamina. After a few more minutes, they found a perfect area to set up camp and rest for the night. Everyone was then set tasks. Neji and Lee would go and catch and/or forage for their dinner while Tenten and her sensei were setting up the tents and gathering firewood. "Tenten, I'll set up the tents. You go and search for firewood." Guy said just as Tenten unsealed her tent from her scroll.

"Hai, Guy-sensei." Tenten replied before leaping away into the trees. "Alone at last…" Tenten breathed out as she took in the cold night air. She was tired after spending hours travelling, so she decided to use this opportunity to rest her feet before she went out and did her task. She landed on a large enough tree branch, took off her sandals and laid down on it, looking up at the night sky. "It's such a beautiful night out…" Tenten muttered to herself, looking up at the infinite amount of stars she could see.

'Every star represents someone.' She once heard. She couldn't remember where but it kind of stuck with her ever since. 'Some glow brighter than others, some flicker and die. But don't think every star isn't useless. Stars can be used to guide us when lost, provide light in our darkest days or simply show us we're not alone.'

"No star is useless…" Tenten said to herself. She decided that was enough rest and it was time to get some firewood. She didn't want to freeze or eat raw meat.

That's when she realized she needed to pee.

"Oh crap…" Tenten swore to herself as she put on her sandals. She had actually been holding it in since stopping by a freshwater river earlier and Guy commanding them to pick up the pace. Since she was really thirsty and she knew she was probably going to die of dehydration, she drank as much as she could before setting off.

Tenten was now regretting that decision.

Having no other choice, she jumped down from the tree branch, pulled down her pants and underwear and expelled the liquid in her bladder. She made sure to be aware of her surroundings as she peed. Even when she was relaxing earlier, she was on high alert. There could be an enemy waiting to ambush her at any moment. A bandit who managed to escape or someone from one of other Hidden Villages who really hated Konoha. She was a woman after all, targeted a bit more often due to a number of factors she couldn't control.

She, however, wouldn't go down without a fight after-

Tenten covered her mouth to muffle her scream of horror.

She was peeing next to a corpse.

Very dead, very much covered in maggots and very much eaten by other animals with more than a few chunks of the poor soul missing.

She… regretted everything that lead up to this moment.

After pulling up her pants and cursing herself for not noticing until now, she quickly started to analyse the corpse with the limited medical knowledge she had. All she knew was that the corpse was an adult male, probably around his 60s or 70s, has been dead for at least a couple of years due to the decomposition of the body and that his clothes, while in shreds, couldn't be recognized so the man was probably not from Konoha. From the surrounding area and the state of the tree bark, the man had probably been killed by some sort of jutsu or blast that forced the man to slam into the tree. Not enough to take the tree down but just enough to snap his spine. Possibly paralyzed from the waist down and probably in too much pain to move.

He had died slowly, either from bleeding out, being attacked by wild animals or just plain starved to death.

She would have to inform Guy about her discovery.

Then, she noticed something that the corpse was clutching onto something with his remaining hand.

"Was he… protecting this?" Tenten wondered out loud before searching her pouch for a kunai. She would probably get a disease or something if she touched the corpse. After finding one, she used it to move the arm away from the box and carefully picked it up in case there was something fragile in it. The poor soul had probably given his life to make sure that the box was safe. The box was made of wood, which hadn't rotted at all or suffered any damage, and had an ornate design on it. There were symbols on it she didn't recognize, indicating that it was either ancient or from another land. She didn't know. All she knew was that the box had to be important in some way, at least to the person that gave their life to protect it.

Tenten quickly pulled out two empty storage scroll, sealed away the box in one, gave a quick prayer for the corpse before she sealed it away in the other and went off back to camp.

(The next day…)

"…And that's our report on the mission, Hokage-sama." Guy said. They had just arrived back at the village only an hour ago and had reported on the bandit camp as well as Tenten's discovery. It was actually rather chaotic. Apparently while they were away, someone broke into the Hokage Tower and stole the Forbidden Scroll. They didn't catch the exact details on the way to the Hokage's office but all they knew was that it resulted in a teacher from the academy being arrested for treason after being beaten to about an inch from death, another teacher being severely injured and some idiot becoming a genin despite failing that day.

Tenten wondered how the Hell someone managed to knock out the Third Hokage, of all people, in one strike. And she wondered who this "idiot" was if he/she managed to stop a chunin despite failing the genin exam.

"Tenten, may I see the scroll where the body is in?" The Hokage asked. Tenten nodded and handed over the scroll. With a twitch of his finger, an ANBU appeared next to the Hokage, wearing a duck mask. "Take this to Forensics. See if we can identify who this was." The ANBU ninja in the Duck mask nodded before taking the scroll and disappeared without a trace. "We'll see if we can identify this man's identity soon enough. If it is among our missing people, you will be awarded accordingly, Tenten. Is there anything else?" Tenten reached for the scroll that contained the box she found on the body but stopped herself.

She hadn't checked the contents of the box yet.

'It… m-might have a trap set so I may as well make sure it's safe.' Tenten thought to herself. 'Yeah. After I check I'll give it to the Hokage.'

"Nothing else, Hokage-sama." Tenten said. The Third just nodded.

"Well, if that is it, you are dismissed. The bounties for those bandits will be transferred to your accounts." The Hokage said. They all nodded before leaving.

"Good job, team!" Guy congratulated his students. "You all handled that mission extremely well. I think you all deserve the rest of the day off!"

"Yosh!" Lee said. "Neji, would you like to join me in training?"

"I cannot." Neji replied bluntly. "I have some sparring sessions scheduled today at the Hyuuga compound and I cannot be late."

"Oh…" Lee said, somewhat disappointed but quickly perked up. "That's okay. Tomorrow then?" Neji just sighed and nodded before walking away. "Well, then Tenten, do you wish to join me?"

"Um… I can't." Tenten lied. The last time she agreed to train with Lee, it ended up with her unable to feel her limbs for several days. "There's a sale on today for er… nunchucks and I really don't wanna miss it. Plus, I have some stuff to take care of at home so…"

"Oh! That reminds me, if you are busy now, would you mind teaching me how to wield nunchucks?" Lee asked. "It is something I'm very interested in learning."

"Sure Lee." Tenten replied, just wanting to end the conversation now. She really wanted to see what was in the box. "So, tomorrow afternoon, then?" Lee nodded before leaping away, planning to do his own training and leaving Tenten in the middle of the street. With a sigh, she then started heading home. She was being honest when she said she needed to do some chores at home after all.

(Later that night…)

Tenten quickly closed the door to her room and flopped down onto her bed. She had to clean the entire apartment and she was really tired. As she stared up at the ceiling, she started to reminisce about the mission she was on. She couldn't help but grimace at the memory of the corpse she found. "Can't wait for that nightmare…" She grumbled to herself sarcastically before she remembered what she had. She quickly took out the storage scroll and unsealed the box it contained.

'Never seen anything like it.' Tenten noted mentally. 'I don't see a lock anywhere. If it's one of those stupid puzzle boxes I've been hearing about, I swear…' Tenten looked at the design of the box some more before she finally decided to try and open it. Guessing she might trigger a trap if she did, she used one of her katanas and sat as far away from the box as she could before using her weapon to open the box slowly. After a bit of effort, she managed to get the blade under the lid before slowly opening it, keeping one of her eyes closed and turning her head away from it if something was to happen.

Thankfully, nothing did. The box opened without anything setting off.

Tenten quickly breathed a sigh of relief before checking the contents of the box. Whatever was in there was important enough for someone to sacrifice their life, and her curiousity was killing her. Was it gold? Was it an ancient artifact? Was it a scroll that contained a powerful jutsu? Maybe even a knife? Or, could it be an heirloom that needed to be returned?

Well, it was none of that.

"It's… training weights?" Tenten said as she took out the items in the box. The items she took out were just a pair of arm training weights that Lee would use, except she didn't understand the symbols that were written on each weight and the weights themselves, flat white stones with red symbols on it, weren't that heavily. Actually, they were weightless in her hands. There were five stones on each bracelet, tied together by thick black rope. She stretched it a little a saw that the rope was elastic. "This person died… for training weights?" Tenten deadpanned. "Maybe it's one of those chakra activated ones." Tenten figured as she put them on. She then channeled some of her chakra into these training weights, causing it to tighten around her arms. Not tight enough to cut off blood flow but enough to be secure on her arms. Suddenly, the red symbols started to glow before dimming. Tenten frowned as she realized they weren't heavier. "Something must be wrong with the seals." She figured. She decided to see if she could fix it.

There was one small problem though.

"It's not coming off. It's not coming off!" Tenten exclaimed as she tried to pull the bracelet off her right arm but had no success. The once elastic ropes were as stiff as stone. Tenten was starting to panic but quickly took some breaths to calm down. "Okay, Tenten. It's stuck on your arms. Don't resort to ruining your ninja career and cutting off your own arms." Tenten told herself before she tried pulling on one of the stone tablets. She then decided to use some chakra on her hand to get a firm grip onto the stone; something she did with her weapons to prevent her from getting disarmed easily.

Unfortunately, the stone she was pulling on was starting to react to her chakra.

Suddenly, the stone started to glow, the symbols on it going from red to orange.

"That's not good!" Tenten called out as she let go of the stone. It was too late, however, as she felt _something_ invade her body. She could feel her own chakra being taken out and replaced by something she couldn't describe properly. It didn't hurt but it made her feel weird. Suddenly, she started to glow as well. Tenten was now hyperventilating as she saw her hands turn into… energy, she could only describe. She fell to her hands and knees as the world started to spin around her, feeling her bones and muscles shifting around her body and changing shape. Her very body was blinding her, making her unable to see what was happening.

All of this happened in just a few milliseconds.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Tenten yelled out before her body stopped glowing, allowing her to see again. She was glad she wasn't blind after that. "Wh-What was that!?" She exclaimed as she tried to stand onto her own two feet, only to fall backwards. "Ow…" Tenten whined. "I must be…" Tenten trailed off as she saw something she didn't expect.

A pair of orange fur paws in front of her face.

And now that she noticed, her room seemed a lot bigger than she remembered. And that everything seemed… clearer to her.

That set off warning alarms in her head.

She quickly rolled onto her back and made a beeline to the bathroom. She could hear claws scratching on her way there and winced. If what she thought was true…

She made it to the bathroom and quickly jumped onto her sink to make use of her mirror. Instead of her brown hair tied into buns and her slightly tanned skin, all she saw as a small fox with orange fur staring right back at her.

She also noticed the abnormal amount of tails she had.

"One, two, three, four…" She quickly counted out loud before she came to a horrible conclusion.

She… was the Kyuubi. The Nine-Tailed Fox.

You know, the thing that made the Third come out of retirement and slaughtered a good chunk of the population of Konoha.

And she was now a miniaturized version of that demon with a necklace around her neck with a tablet as the token.

"Oh sweet Kami…" Tenten muttered to herself before falling off the sink. The pain in her head reminded her that this was reality. This was happening to her right now.

She needed to go to the Hokage.

Using the ninja way of exiting a building, she jumped out her window and into the street. After a few minutes, she realized that may have been a bad idea.

She did look like the fox in the middle of a village that didn't particularly like them.

Oh, and it was at a time where a lot of people get drunk. Especially survivors of the Kyuubi attack.

It was a wonder she lasted a few minutes before she was chased by a mob.

"OHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT **OH SHIT!** " Tenten screamed out as she ran around the village, dodging kunai and various other weapons while she did. 'This is karma, isn't it!?' She frantically thought. 'Keep something secret from the Hokage and now you're gonna die! Thank you whatever power there is that _turned me into the most hated thing in the village_!'

Meanwhile, a certain blonde sneezed. "I'm not hated! It's just that no one pays attention to my awesome!" He proudly declared. "Where the Hell did that come from?" Naruto muttered to himself before casually eating more ramen.

Anyway, back to Tenten for her life.

She was more than likely dead. She had no idea if she could transform back into her human form and it was either the villagers were going to skin her alive or make her a trophy to put up on their wall.

She really didn't want to find out, so she kept running.

Somehow, she managed to lose the crowd by going through a few alleyways but that didn't mean they weren't searching for her. She looked around for hiding spots as the mob started to get closer and closer to find her. Having no choice, she dashed over to an apartment building and started scratching at one of the doors and whimpering, hoping someone was there to let her in and hopefully not hate her, even if it was a million to one shot.

Well, she got the one shot.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he opened the door, wondering what it was that was trying to ruin his apartment door in the middle of the night. He was about to go to bed. Tenten didn't hesitate and quickly rushed into his apartment and curling up into a corner. "What the-!?" Naruto exclaimed before looking outside. Seeing that there was a mob of people outside and the shivering fox in the corner, he decided to shut the door.

'Thank Kami, I'm safe!' Tenten thought before realizing something. '…I don't who this guy is!' Tenten exclaimed in her mind. She didn't know if the blonde boy hated her yet and now she was trapped inside his apartment. From the looks of his apartment, he was probably an academy student or a fresh-off-test genin. Though, she hadn't seen any pictures of anyone yet…

"Hey." Naruto said as he kneeled down. Tenten whimpered again and curled up even tighter. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt…" Naruto then noticed the tails on the fox. "Huh? One, two…" Tenten was now panicking. As soon as he got to nine, he was going to kill her.

She only prayed that her death would be swift.

"Nine." Naruto finished off before his eyes widened. "What!? I-I…" Tenten then got confused when the boy who let her in started panicking. "I thought… Wasn't…" Naruto stuttered out, trying to figure out how in the Hell this was possible.

He needed to find out.

He quickly pulled up his shirt and started some chakra, causing his seal to appear.

"It's still there!" Naruto exclaimed. "If it's still there, why are _you_ out here!?"

"What are you-" Tenten started to shout back before pausing.

What the Hell did he mean by her being in that seal on his gut?

Meanwhile, Naruto's brain just shut down as the mini-Kyuubi talked. "Wh-What…" Naruto mumbled. Fearing the worse, Tenten decided to ignore it for now and defend herself.

"I-I'm not the Kyuubi!" Tenten quickly shouted out. "I-I'm… I _was_ human! I'm human! D-Don't hurt me!"

"I… I…" Naruto said before realizing the best way to deal with this situation.

He pulled a Hinata and passed out.

Naruto woke up several minutes later as Tenten pushed a cup of water onto his face. It wasn't easy. She had drag him over to the table, filled up an empty ramen cup using his sink and then somehow get the cup from the sink to the table. Which was difficult considering she no longer had thumbs.

She had tasted things she never wanted to taste again.

Anyway, Naruto groaned and sat up as Tenten landed onto the floor. "You okay?" Tenten asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Naruto muttered. "Um… why is the Kyuubi in my apartment?"

"I'm not the Kyuubi!" Tenten exclaimed before sighing. "It's a long story…" Naruto looked down at his stomach before shrugging.

"I have time." Naruto said. "You mind telling me?"

"You believe me?" Tenten asked incredulously before taking a few steps back. "You're… not gonna hurt me?"

"Let's just say I know a thing or two about the fox." Naruto replied as he rubbed the back of his head. Tenten just sighed in relief before climbing onto his lap.

"My name is Tenten. No last name, don't ask. 13 years old…"

(Some time later…)

"…And that's how I ended up here." Tenten finished off her story before looking down at her new body. "And how I look like this."

"That's… really weird." Naruto admitted, his face a little red. Tenten did not skip out on any details. Especially how she discovered the corpse. "So, you think you can turn back… Tenten?"

"I… I'm not sure." Tenten admitted. "Everything just went so fast and now I might look like the fox until I die…" Naruto couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl… fox… fox girl…

"Hey, it's alright." Naruto reassured her. "In the morning we'll go see the old man."

"Old man?" Tenten asked, looking confused. Well, as confused a fox could be.

"Oh, that's what I call the Hokage." Naruto explained sheepishly. Tenten decided not to question about why this kid would show such disrespect to the Hokage but considering she looked like a mini-Kyuubi and this guy was probably the only one willing to help her she didn't exactly had the right to complain. "Hey, what's this?" Naruto asked, looking at the necklace she had. Naruto also couldn't understand the symbols but he did notice there was only one symbol that was glowing orange.

"Oh, I don't know." Tenten replied. "Ever since I transformed I-"

Suddenly, the last symbol on the tablet dimmed.

Tenten felt that weird feeling from before go through her body before she was blinded. When she opened her eyes, Naruto was staring at her. "What?" Tenten asked. "What happened this time!?"

"W-Well… you're back to normal…" Naruto stuttered out as he tried to look away from the now human girl. Tenten's eyes widened before jumping off the boy.

"Really!?" Tenten exclaimed before cheering. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Um… er…" Naruto tried to say something really important but was too embarrassed to say anything. He decided actions spoke louder than words so he went into his room, grabbed his jacket and put it on Tenten.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Tenten asked.

"Y-You're gonna get cold." Naruto said. Tenten just frowned at this. Sure, her clothes weren't the warmest but it was appropriate for the Land of Fire's cli-

Wait a minute, why could she feel a breeze down below her waist?

 **-101010-**

I guess… this is where it all started. Where my life changed. For better or for worse, I was no longer just a normal kunoichi of Konoha. Now that I think about it, I don't really regret putting on those bracelets. Sure, it took some getting used to and it wasn't exactly smooth road.

But… it alone lead to so many things happening in my life.

Travelling the world. Having people cheer my name. Meeting my idol. Meeting and making friends with so many people. Doing the impossible daily. Becoming a legendary kunoichi by my own right. Being an inspiration to others. And maybe saving the Elemental Nations more than a few times.

I just wish I didn't have such a stupid title.

But it is… my name. The name they cheer for or fear at the sound. Not many can stand in my way, but don't think it was easy for me. Being a pseudo-jinchuriki didn't come without its pros and cons, but they made me stronger in the end.

I guess you could call this an origin story for a hero. So, I guess that's what this story should be.

This is how I became TentenTen.

Really wish Naruto came up with a better name…

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! Whatever! I literally have no idea what I'm gonna do after Chapter 1, but let's see if this actually takes off.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	2. Chapter 2: Consequences

Hey, UknownHero here and like always, welcome to another chapter of TentenTen. Good to see there's some support for this fic and this stupid idea I just did on impulse. But, I now do have a rough, interesting idea about what can happen in the story but overall I'm still probably gonna follow the plot of the canon with just Tenten in it. I just hope I can nail this. Anyway, onto the reviews! Well, review. To Generalhyna: That… doesn't… sound… great. This story is _based off_ , not a real crossover with Ben 10. The only real element from Ben 10 is a device strapped onto one's wrist that allows the main character to transform into different forms with different abilities.

That reminds me, I need a tenth form and I am not doing the Ten Tails, at least not yet.

Eh, anyway, time for ninjas to not act like real ninjas!

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 2: Consequences

It was another bright and sunny early morning in Konoha, something Tenten had experienced a lot of from her time in this village. Her morning routine would be what every other young genin in the village would do. Take a shower, eat breakfast, maybe do a little maintenance of her equipment and then head out for either training or a mission.

*CRACK!*

Unfortunately, it was not a normal morning for Tenten.

"What was that!?" One of the Naruto clones asked. Tenten had decided to stay in Naruto's apartment for the night because 1) she was dead tired from running away from the villagers 2) she realized just how drained of chakra she was and 3) she had no clothes. Apparently, whatever energy the braces stuck on her arms expelled when she transformed had burned away every stitch of cloth she had on her. She was lucky that she took off her headband when she got home. Anyway, now wearing one of Naruto's orange jackets and pants, she was attempting to take off these cursed braces before it caused more trouble for her. But, today it seemed like every deity and god in existence chose her as their toy for an indiscriminate amount of time so it obviously ended with constant failure.

And a dislocated arm.

"That was just the sound of all my regrets." Tenten groaned before pulling her arm away and clutching her shoulder. She then looked at the Kage Bunshin. "I can't believe you can make solid clones…"

"Yeah, they're pretty awesome." Naruto said as all his clones dispelled, before looking worried as Tenten tried to relocate her arm. "But are you alright, Ten-san?"

"I probably need to go to the hospital after we visit the Hokage." Tenten replied before there was another crack, her right arm going back into the socket. She then rolled up the sleeves of the jacket and looked at the braces on her arms. "This is what I get for hiding these things for the Hokage…" She muttered to herself before rolling the sleeve back down.

"I'm sure the Old Man will understand." Naruto reassured her as he grabbed his goggles.

"I can transform into a chibi version of the demon fox that killed the Fourth and almost destroyed the entire village." Tenten deadpanned. "I'm sure he won't be too happy about this."

"Er… don't worry about it." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck. To Tenten, he didn't sound like he was sure himself.

"Let's just go." Tenten said as she walked out of the apartment. "I should swing by my apartment after. Maybe that box has something to take these things off. At the very least, I can get my own clothes on. This thing's an eyesore."

"Hey! What's wrong with orange!?" Naruto exclaimed as he followed her outside, making sure to lock his apartment. "My clothes are fine! Plus, I manage to hide from the ANBU all the time in these!"

"Wait, what?" Tenten said, honestly surprised before looking skeptical. "Really?"

"Yeah! I'm always training, even when I'm pulling pranks." Naruto said with a fist pump.

"…That's _really_ worrying." Tenten admitted. If what Naruto was saying was true, turning into the Kyuubi or Guy-sensei's warm-ups were the least of her worries. Speaking of which, she got worried when she started to noticed something weird going on.

In a perfect circle, people were keeping their distance from them. Tenten looked around and saw people were turning their heads away from them, almost if they didn't even want to acknowledge they were even there. Tenten was really confused by this. Maybe it was her ill-fitting and butt-ugly clothes? Or maybe someone saw her transformation and quickly spread the news the Kyuubi was reborn through her?

"Don't worry about." Naruto said softly, causing Tenten to stop in her tracks. The smile on his face seemed to vanish without a trace before reappearing like nothing happened. "Hurry up! Don't you want to see the Old Man!?"

Tenten just nodded before catching up. If she did this fast enough, she might be able to make it to training today.

That is; if she still had her arms after this. Or an income.

(Some time later…)

She had walked up these stairs yesterday, paying no mind to anything other than reaching her destination. Today, however, she almost hesitated with every step she climbed. Every one led her closer to the end of her ninja career or worse. Why did she let her curiousity make her lie about something so important?

The box had nothing else that could've helped her figured what the braces on her arms actually were. No instructions, no secret compartments, no other writings on the box, there was nothing that would indicate that the box was special other than sentimental value. She swore, if she lost her arms because of this…

"We're here." Naruto announced, snapping Tenten out of her thoughts. They were now in front of the Hokage Office, a set of doors which now looked much more imposing than she remembered. Her heart raced at the sight. She was nervous.

No.

She was terrified.

She shouldn't be terrified of the Hokage. He was the protector, the hero of the village, one of the best ninja in the world despite his age and was shown numerous times to be generous and kind, to the point where he was often seen visiting the local orphanage on a daily basis. But the Third Hokage was not someone that could easily be trifled with. He had both political and physical power, and he would gladly exercise it if it was a danger to the village and those within its walls.

And she was just a genin who did some really dumb things.

"Um… m-maybe we should come ba-" Tenten started to say before Naruto unceremoniously kicked the door open.

"Hey! Old Man!" Naruto loudly greeted. The Hokage only sighed at the orange-wearing boy's antics.

"Naruto, I understand you're eager to be a genin of Konoha but…" Hokage then trailed off as he saw Tenten trying to hide herself behind Naruto, her hands behind her back, and looking rather worried. "Hm? Tenten? Why are you here this early?"

"Uh… th-t-there was s-s-something I… need t-t-to tell you." Tenten stuttered out as she gathered as much courage as she could. "I s-s-s-sort of… left something o-o-out… about th-t-the mission from y-y-yesterday."

"Tenten, you do realize that lying in reports are grounds for punishment." The Hokage said seriously. Tenten couldn't help but feel a stab of fear go through her heart. "You should have known this by now."

"I know that now. I am sorry Hokage-sama and I will gladly accept any punishment you deem appropriate but I _really_ need your help right now." Tenten said. "It's that… I have these." Tenten then slowly pulled up her sleeves, revealing the braces around her arms. The Hokage narrowed his eyes at the braces, studying it for a few seconds before speaking.

"What are those around your arms?" The Third asked. Tenten just looked at Naruto before he nodded back.

"She can…. turn into… um, it kinda involves…. you know." Naruto said as he pointed at his stomach. The Hokage didn't hesitate to signal his ANBU to leave them alone. Anything involving Naruto and the Kyuubi was going to be considered an S-Rank secret, no matter what it was.

"Explain." The Hokage said sternly. Tenten was a little too busy worrying about her own problems to ask Naruto about his apparent connection to the demon that ravaged their village and proceeded to explain her situation. It didn't take long, but it left the Hokage with many questions. "Transform into the Kyuubi, now." The Hokage commanded. Tenten took in a deep breath and looked at her braces.

"Okay, which one was it now…?" She muttered to herself. She couldn't, for the life of her, remember which one of the tablets activated her transformation and she couldn't translate the symbols on them so she just guessed. "This one might be it. I think." Tenten mumbled before placing channeling some chakra into her palm and placed it on the tablet.

And suddenly, she felt her chakra instantly drain from her body and be replaced by something else.

"YAH!" Tenten shouted out before her body glowed, blinding the Hokage and Naruto as she transformed. It happened in a flash and when the light dimmed, they could only stare at Tenten's new form. "Oh… I'm not gonna get used to this, am I?" Tenten groaned before shaking her head and seeing everyone in the room stare at her. "I… I did it… I think…"

"What on…" The Third mumbled, staring in awe at Tenten's new form.

"Er… Ten-san? You…" Naruto started, feeling a little awkward there was one _minor_ detail that they messed up on. "Uh…"

"Hokage-sama, don't be alarmed. I'm not the Kyuubi reincarnated or anything it's just…" Tenten tried to explain but found herself unable to form anymore sentences. She was just way too nervous. She tried to gather up all the courage she had before the Third kindly pointed out the elephant in the room… well, it was more like the giant beetle in the room.

"You are not the Kyuubi." The Third said calmly after getting over the initial shock. "You are a beetle."

"Huh?" Tenten said dumbly before trying to look at, what should be, her paws but only saw insect-like legs. Now that she realized it, it felt like she had three pairs of legs. She turned her head to look at her back, which was a dark blue, and saw six green and orange insect wings attached to her tail. "Wh-Wh-What the…!?"

"More specifically, you resemble rhinoceros beetle." The Hokage noted, studying Tenten's new form as she freaked out. He also saw the tablet around Beetle Tenten's neck, noting the symbols on it glowing light green, and her wings and tail. "Hm… seven…" The Hokage mumbled to himself. This was… very interesting. He was going to have to get an expert on this to confirm his suspicions.

And he knew exactly who.

But first… he had to make sure none of this information left this room. Who knew how many people would lose their lives over this young genin and… these demonic braces she possessed.

"Tenten, how long does this… transformation last?" The Third asked.

"Huh?" Tenten said as she used her new wings to fly up onto the Hokage's desk. Oh, that was way too natural to be comfortable. "I don't know. I wasn't really keeping track of time. But I guess… uh… ten minutes? Thirty minutes at best? …I think?"

"When you transform back, you may leave." The Hokage said, causing Naruto and Tenten to sigh in relief. "But… you will be taken off the active roster. You will be unable to participate in any mission until my expert has confirmed to me your braces are not a threat to the village and we learn more about them."

"Wh-What?" Tenten said, unable to believe what she just heard.

"C'mon, Old Man! I'm sure Ten-san's braces aren't going to hurt anyone! And Ten-san is a good person!" Naruto tried to convince the Hokage to think otherwise.

"Naruto, I'm sure Tenten won't use what she now has to hurt anyone in the village, but for all we know her braces could be slowly corrupting her mind and chakra with each transformation." The Hokage explained before looking at the tablet. One of its symbols have started to dim. "And if word of this gets out to the public…"

"Oh…" Naruto said with a wince. "Sorry, Ten-san."

"No no, I was expecting it." Tenten mumbled with a sad sigh before bowing down. "I apologize again Hokage-sama from keeping this from you."

"It's fine, but do not let anything like this happen again." The Third said. "I will inform your team that you will be taking a leave of absence, but I will tell your sensei the real reason you will not be participating in missions with them. I'm also going to schedule for you to have daily check-ups at the hospital to make sure your transformations are not affecting your body negatively. If you are asked why, say that you are undergoing special training with a tutor. I cannot stress enough about this but do not, under any circumstance, use your transformations unless I say so."

"Of course, Hokage-same." Tenten said. "Now uh… can I ask you a favour?"

"What is it?" The Third asked.

"Well, uh… when I transform my clothes kinda burn away so… um…" Tenten said awkwardly.

"We don't have spare clothes here, unfortunately." The Hokage informed the beetle girl.

"I-I'll take her home." Naruto offered. "When she turns back, she can get dressed there."

"Naruto!" Tenten exclaimed. "I can't go out like… this!" She said as she looked down at her body. "I'm gonna be squished like a bug if anyone sees me!"

"Hey, don't you know who you're talking to?" Naruto said with a smirk. "I hide from the ANBU daily, and they're like super ninjas! Speaking of which. Three. Two. One." Suddenly, there was the distinct sound of someone letting it rip and the room started to shake a little before settling down. Tenten looked out the window of the Hokage's Office and saw an orange mushroom cloud in the distance.

"Naruto… that the ANBU Headquarters wasn't it." The Hokage deadpanned as Naruto laughed at his latest prank.

"I love Kage Bunshin!" Naruto laughed out, rolling on the floor, laughing his heart out. Tenten just stared in amazement at the orange-loving boy. When did he send out a Bunshin? She was with him all morning.

She made a mental note to herself never to let Naruto have a reason to prank her. Ever.

"Naruto, take Tenten home now. We'll talk about your reward later." The Third said in an emotionless tone.

"Sorry but I won't be pulling pranks for a while so-!" Naruto started before realizing what the Hokage just said. "Wait, what?"

"This is happening too often. I'm going to have a stern meeting with our ANBU if their security has been breached by a boy with blonde hair in bright orange." The Hokage explained.

"It was kinda easy actually." Naruto admitted proudly.

"And that's what concerns me." The Third said in a serious tone. "Now, you may leave."

"Thanks Old Man." Naruto said, happy he was actually getting rewarded for his pranks.

"Uh… hello, girl who's still a bug here!" Tenten spoke up. "You're seriously not gonna take me home like this, are you?"

"We'll figure something out!" Naruto happily said. "C'mon, I think I have an idea."

 **-101010-**

"This is the worst idea I've ever agreed to." Tenten deadpanned.

"It's a good idea!" Naruto tried to defend himself.

"No it's not!" Tenten exclaimed. Currently, they were in the streets heading for Tenten's home and Naruto had the "brilliant" idea of wrapping his surprisingly comfortable jacket around her and carrying her like a baby. It was either this or cling onto Naruto's back underneath his jacket and hope to every deity there is no one would question the large bump growing out of the blonde's back. And roof hopping wasn't an option because it would raise suspicion. "We're gonna get caught!"

"Quiet! You're supposed to act like a baby or an injured animal… so… act like one!" Naruto whispered out before looking around to see if anyone was staring at them. As usual, they were not.

"Oh yeah, they'll buy that I'm just a really ugly baby…" Tenten muttered sarcastically, using her legs to hold her tails close to her body. "The horn on my head really improves the illusion."

"Can't you just do the Henge no Jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"I don't. Have. Fingers." Tenten stated, wiggling her foremost legs. "What makes you think I can use that justu in this form? How can I do _any_ jutsu in this form?"

"Just stop talking and act natural." Naruto said before he looked up. "Uh… where's your house again."

"I don't know. I've been staring at your face and sky for the past couple of minutes." Tenten said. "I'm kinda running out of time here. J-Just tilt me a little. I wanna take a look."

"Okay." Naruto said before turning Tenten a bit to her side to let her see a little of the street they were in. "It shouldn't be too far from the Hokage Tower so it should be… there-oh shit!" She swore.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Dammit… my teammates!" Tenten said, having saw Neji and Lee approaching her apartment building. "I missed my team meeting this morning!"

"This early?" Naruto asked incrediously.

"Be happy you do not have my sensei." Tenten said as she started thinking of a plan. She was sure she was going to transform back soon and Naruto's apartment would take too long to get to. Then she remembered she left her window open last night. "Naruto, look. See that open window? That one on the second floor? That's my apartment. I need you to put me in there now without getting seen by the guy with big eyebrows and the guy with the arrogant aura around him. Those are my teammates. Think you can do that?"

"No sweat." Naruto said with a smirk before quickly ducking into an alley and doing a few handsigns. "Henge!" Then, in a puff of smoke, he transformed into Tenten. "How do I look?" He asked. Tenten would've been surprised at how accurate the Henge was, even down to her voice. However, she was confused and angry.

"Naruto, what the Hell are you doing!?" She exclaimed. "Turning into me isn't going to help!"

"Yes it will." Naruto said. "I'm gonna go distract your teammates, you sneak into your apartment."

"That's not gonna work." Tenten said, just knowing her teammates will catch Naruto in an instant.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Naruto asked, not expecting an actual response. Well, honestly, Tenten probably could but she was running out of time and couldn't think of any other option right now.

"I take back what I said earlier. _This_ is the worst idea I've ever agreed to." Tenten said before wriggling out of Naruto's arms, his jacket still on her back giving her at least some cover. "Just stall them as long as you can."

"Don't get caught." Naruto said before heading off to distract her teammates.

"That goes for you too." Tenten said, deciding to wait a few seconds before sneaking into her apartment.

 **-101010-**

Tenten wasn't at their team meeting this morning and Guy-sensei had been called to the Hokage after a few minutes of "warm-up" exercises so it was their task to find Tenten and find out the reason why she didn't show. Tenten was rarely late for team meetings, let alone completely missing out on it and in the event she was late she would have a good reason usually. It was certainly strange but they could always give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was a one-time thing.

"This should be where she lives." Neji muttered to himself, sure the address Guy told them was correct.

"I wonder why she did not show to the meeting." Lee wondered out loud. "That's not very youthful of her."

"Well, she better have a good reason." Neji said before noticing Tenten's apartment window was open. The curtains were shut but did cause some alarm. He narrowed his eyes before he went to knock on her door. However…

"Hey, guys!" A familiar voice called out. They turned and saw "Tenten" walking up the steps with a rather bright smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't show up to the meeting today." Neji informed her. "Sensei told us to find you."

"Oh, s-sorry! I just got caught up in something and just forgot." "Tenten" explained as she rubbed her arm. "Don't worry, tell sensei it won't be happening again." Lee and Neji looked at each other before turning to Tenten.

"By the way, Tenten-san, I want to learn how to wield nunchucks." Lee said. "Do you mind training with me this afternoon?"

"Sure. Where?" "Tenten" replied… before being punched straight in the gut by the guy in green spandex, dispelling Naruto's Henge. "ARGH!" Naruto yelled out in pain, coughing up blood, before being grabbed by his shirt and pulled onto his feet.

"You have ten seconds to explain yourself." Neji threatened. "Now what did you do with our teammate!?" Naruto winced before seeing Tenten crawl into her window behind them, making sure the curtains where shut. They fell for it.

"Uh… um… she's…" Naruto tried to explain but couldn't think of a good explanation without revealing what happened last night or the Hokage Office. To them, he was just some guy they didn't know at best and an infiltrator from some other village at worst.

"Well!?" Lee shouted out.

"Uh… she sent me out to distract you!" Naruto called out without thinking, which only confused the two boys in front of him.

"And why should we trust your words?" Neji asked. If he didn't like what he said or caught him lying, he was going straight to the Torture & Interrogation Department.

"Hello, is anyone there?" another voice called out from inside the apartment. "What's making all that noise?" Tenten asked as she quickly got dressed and ate some Soldier Pills to refill her chakra.

"Tenten?" Lee said in confusion as Neji let go of Naruto's shirt, letting him give out a sigh of relief. He felt like he almost died. "Tenten, is that you?" There was the distinct sound of someone unlocking the door before Tenten's head poked out, now completely human. From what they could see, her hair was down and she was wearing light grey sweat pants and a bright orange jacket. It looked like she just woke up.

"Neji? Lee? What time is it?" Tenten questioned as she let out a fake yawn. "Sorry, looks like I missed the meeting, huh?"

"Yes." Neji responded before looking at the jacket and then Naruto. "Where did you get that jacket?"

"O-Oh… uh… when I went out to buy some new weapons and stock up on my supplies I met someone really friendly. We talked for hours into the night and I got cold. He gave me his jacket and walked me home." Tenten lied, though mentally grimaced. That sounded really romantic. When she saw Naruto wipe his mouth to clean his blood, she knew she had to let him off the hook. It was the least she could do for helping her. "Oh, Naruto! Thanks for giving me your jacket."

"No problem." Naruto laughed it off before wincing and rubbing his stomach.

"Oh, and thanks for stalling them, I really needed those extra minutes in bed." Tenten said.

"Can I have my jacket back?" Naruto asked. It was his favourite jacket after all.

"Uh… later, I just threw these on and I'm kinda… indecent underneath." Tenten explained, causing the boys to blush.

"No worries. Keep it." Naruto said as he started to walk away. "I'm gonna go and get my photo taken. See ya!" Naruto called out before running for the Hokage Tower, having thrown out his plans for that a long time ago.

"Bye, Naruto!" Tenten called back before looking at her teammates. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Guy-sensei was summoned over to the Hokage's Office." Lee said. "It looked like it was urgent."

"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and get ready. Do you mind waiting a bit more?" Tenten asked. Neji and Lee just nodded before Tenten slammed the door on them and started getting ready for the day.

"…Do you think…?" Lee started, knowing what Neji was thinking of right now.

"It's none of our business, Lee." Neji replied before mumbling quietly. "…But yes." After that it was just listening to the village and its people going about their business before Tenten came back out wearing her kunoichi outfit… plus Naruto's jacket.

"What? It's comfortable!" Tenten lied again, the jacket's actual use was to hide her cursed braces. "C'mon, let's see if Guy-sensei returned from his meeting with the Hokage." Tenten said before jumping away. Neji and Lee looked at each other before shrugging. It wasn't their business.

And so, the new day began… and with it all its twists and turns.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! This was started months ago but finally I got around to finishing it. Anyway, that's it for now! See ya, whenever!

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	3. Chapter 3: Learning

Okay, let's do this. Hey, UknownHero here and as the hot season finally gets to Australia, welcome to another chapter of TentenTen. I'm managing to get a real plot going, but it's most likely gonna involve the Wave Arc so send me and review or a PM suggesting what I should write instead before I shoot myself in the face. Please note that is a joke, I just really don't wanna do the Wave Arc and just skip straight into the Chunin Exam and now as I'm writing this it should really be a training arc.

…Now I'm kinda curious. What if guns were in Naruto? Or if magic was in Naruto?

Nah, the magic one would just be canon Naruto. Anyway, enough of my ramblings, let's get onto the chapter.

Chapter 3: Learning

To Tenten, as she laid on her bed thinking, it felt like years since she had seen her teammates, gone out on a mission or even did anything related to being a proper ninja. In reality… it was only two weeks at best.

The Hokage informed her team the next day after revealing everything to him. Lee was supportive and hoped for the best while Neji was… somewhat indifferent? She kinda knew he didn't really care, probably thinking about fate or something hypocritical and just told her good luck on her training. Guy-sensei, after giving her congrats on her "new sensei" gave her a very long lecture on responsibility and power and how she shouldn't have lied. She knew all of this already, she was certainly paying for it now, but she found herself… sad after all that. It was only a day after that she missed her team already.

Meanwhile, all she had been doing is maintaining her daily routine. Maintaining her weapons, training and then the weekly visit to the hospital. Overall, she was perfectly fine. Her chakra coils had expanded slightly but overall she was still the same Tenten. She had spent a majority of her time researching seals to either safely remove the braces around her arms or at the very least allow her clothes to not be destroyed every time she transformed.

Speaking of which, she hadn't transformed ever since that visit to the Hokage. Hell, she made sure to thoroughly cover her arms in the bathroom when she needed to wash herself. As far as she knew, no one but Naruto and the Hokage know about her braces, and she had been wearing Naruto's jacket everywhere she went but she started noticing… looks from the public. At first, she just wrote it up being an eye-sore to about everyone except the boy who usually wore them but now it was more like… they were judging her, strangely. It was weirding her out.

Maybe she was just imagining it. She decided tomorrow she would buy something else with long sleeves.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Tenten couldn't help but groan a little as she got up and stretched. This was supposed to be her little day off to just ignore the problems she had with her life and just relax. She quickly put on the orange jacket and went to open the door.

"Hello?" Tenten greeted as she opened it, only to see it was an ANBU with a raccoon mask.

"The Hokage would like to have a word with you. He sent me to escort you." Raccoon said. Tenten's eyes widened at that. Had he found a way to get rid of the braces around her arms already? Or did he have information that could help her with her problem? She didn't care; any news from the Hokage was good news to her.

"Thank you. Take me there now, please." Tenten replied as she put on her sandals. The ANBU just a hand on her shoulder. Before she knew it, she was in the Hokage's office and feeling really dizzy. "Wh-Whoa…" She got out as she stumbled around a little. That was the first time she ever experienced that jutsu.

"Is she the one?" A voice she didn't recognize said as the ANBU disappeared. She looked around before her eyes widened as she saw another old man.

But it wasn't just another old man, it was Jiraiya. One of the two remaining Legendary Sannin of the Village. The other being her hero, Tsunade.

Her more childish side told her that he might be able to get her in contact with her idol, the other more rational side told her no one has seen Tsunade in years and that she doubted Jiraiya would keep in contact with her however.

Plus, thanks her research on the Legendary Sannin she remembered his… dubious reputation.

She absently wondered if the Hokage would understand she transformed into the Kyuubi again. Or maybe one of her other transformations she hadn't used yet.

"Yes she is." The Third stated. "Tenten, this is Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"I… I know who he is." Tenten spoke up. "It's an honour to meet you, Jiraiya-sama." She said politely as she bowed.

"So you're the reason the Hokage dragged me back to Konoha." Jiraiya said before lifting up one of her arms and pulling down the sleeve. "And these must be the _Akuma Braces_ he's been talking about."

"Y-Yes." Tenten replied with a nod as she held up her other arm. The Sage hummed before studying the braces, twisting her arms around to check inch of it. He then let go of her arms, did a few hand signs before touching her arms again.

Suddenly, all over her arms were black symbols and marks she didn't recognize.

"I knew it; these tablets are way too small for something so complex." Jiraiya noted as Tenten freaked out.

"Wh-Wh-What!? When did all this shit get put on my arms!?" Tenten exclaimed as she looked at her new tattoos. They were even on her fingernails!

"Presumably, as soon as you put those braces on." Jiraiya answered as he held her arms still and studied them closely. "Most of these are seals. Pretty complicated seals from the looks of it. Some of these I don't even recognize. The ones I do recognize distill chakra and some safety measures. If I change with one these even slightly, it would either kill her or at the very least cripple her… or explode. Either way, I can't do anything."

"Wha-You mean these things are never coming off!?" Tenten called out in disbelief.

"Unless I have the notes of the original maker of this, there's nothing I can do." Jiraiya stated.

"What about the body I found these things on? Do you have anything on him?" Tenten practically begged.

"Sorry, but we still can't determine his identity." The Hokage said. "We would have to launch a mission to find his medical records from another village, which would more than likely be seen as an act of war."

Tenten just fell to her knees as seals on her arms faded back into her skin colour. Her life was over. Her arms were fused to the damn things and she knew one of these days she would screw up and accidently transform in public.

She was dead. So very dead.

"Wh… What do I do?" Tenten mumbled out before glancing at the braces. "Who would make such a thing…?"

"Tenten, would you mind transforming into one of those… creatures." The Hokage asked kindly. He still needed a little bit more confirmation on what she could transform into, and if he needed Jiraiya to do something about it.

"…A-Alright." Tenten replied as she stood up before taking off her sandals and headband. "Here we go…" She muttered before channeling some chakra into the palm of her hand. "Please don't be a freak of nature, please don't be a freak of nature!" She called out as she slapped her hand onto one of the tablets. As her body glowed intensely, Jiraiya and the Hokage looked away before looking at Tenten's new form as the light faded.

"I knew it." The Hokage said as Jiraiya looked at Tenten in awe.

"Okay! That is the last time I'll do that again." Tenten firmly stated as she tried to move her limbs, only to feel something was… off. "W-Why do I feel so slimy?" She looked down to see what her new form was… just as she realized that her eyes weren't in her skull.

Because she turned herself into a slug with six tails.

"I… I wanna vomit but I think it'll just make me vomit more…" Tenten admitted as she wiggled around her tiny arms and legs. "I wanna be that beetle again!"

"Looks like you were right, Lord Hokage." Jiraiya said as Tenten fruitlessly tried to walk, leaving slime on the floor of the office.

"And this confirms how the person holding those braces died." The Hokage said. "He wasn't protecting those braces… he was collecting their chakra…"

"Huh? What?" Tenten spoke up, confused by the statement as she managed to figure out how to slither.

"Tenten, listen to me." The Third said in a stern tone. "It is very likely that those braces contain the chakra of nine creatures we call 'Tailed Beasts'."

"Tailed… Beasts…?" Tenten got out before looking behind herself and wiggling her six tails. Suddenly, the images of her beetle form's six wings and tail flashed into her mind, as well as the Kyuubi and its nine tails. "Wait a minute, there's _nine_ of those things like the Kyuubi!?"

"Yes. And the guy you got those braces from died during the Kyuubi attack on Konoha twelve years ago." Jiraiya said. "That guy managed to track down all the Tailed Beasts, or at the very least their jinchuriki, steal some of that chakra and put it in those tablets."

"It's very likely that those braces would've been used as a weapon of mass destruction." The Third stated as he puffed his pipe. "Imagine having even a percentage of all the Tailed Beasts' power at the palm of your hands. Imagine the power this person would've had if he didn't perish."

"…Which I have now." Tenten realized as she looked at her body. "I… I can turn into Tailed Beasts…"

"Which makes you a sort of pseudo-jinchuriki." Jiraiya said.

"What… What is a jinchuriki?" Tenten wondered out loud.

"The Power of Human Sacrifice." Jiraiya answered. "Humans with a Tailed Beast seal within them, often sealed within them at birth. Every major village has at least one."

"…Do we have one other than me?" Tenten had to ask. "Who… Who's our jinchuriki?"

"Tenten, you do not have the jurisdiction to ask that question." The Hokage said, causing her to wince. "If we really did have a jinchuriki, only he or she would have the right to tell you."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Hokage-sama." Tenten quickly apologized. "So… What do I do now? Am I still off the active roster?"

"Yes." The Hokage informed, causing her to sigh sadly. "You will be put back on once you are done with your training."

"Training?" Tenten repeated, surprised. "I thought the training was just a cover story."

"Well, that cover story is about come true." Jiraiya said. "Meet me at Training Ground 3 at 0500 tomorrow."

"Wait, why?" Tenten asked before gasping. "Wait, am I… You're going to train me!?" Despite everything from his publically known perversions and her wanting her hero to be her sensei, the prospect of being trained by one of the Sannin was a once in a lifetime thing! She couldn't believe this was happening!

"Only for one or two weeks, then I have to get back on the road." Jiraiya replied. He could maintain his spy network while in Konoha, but there was only so much he could do here. He was stretching it with two weeks, but he was pretty much the only active shinobi available who knew something about the Tailed Beasts in Konoha, and Tenten…

Well, there were several problems.

First off, Tenten would eventually be a target considering the power she had at her wrists, probably much more desirable than an actual jinchuriki, and she would more than likely need to transform in order to fend them off. The problem was that she had no idea how use her transformations properly, each form having different strengths and weaknesses they have yet to discover.

Then there was the fact that Tenten would have zero to no control over her chakra while transformed. Having completely different chakra running through your veins would screw up anyone's control so most of her jutsu and attacks would either fizzle out or, worst case scenario, would probably level the village and everyone living in it to disintegrate. Of course, her forms were about the size of a dog but he was not taking any chances.

So it was either have this small 13 year old child accidently destroy everything in the radius of _everywhere_ or take a break from scoring hot women with daddy issues.

…Bah, he could do both at the same time.

Plus, the real jinchuriki of Konoha didn't need him right now.

"I-I promise! I'll put everything into my training, Jiraiya-sensei!" Tenten said as she quickly bowed, flinging slime around the office and on the Sage's clothes.

"If that's it, if you need me, I need to perform some research for my next book." Jiraiya said as exited through the window.

"Research…?" Tenten got out, looking as confused as she could be in her slug form. "Okay… Um, Hokage-sama, do you…"

"I have spare clothes here this time." The Hokage interrupted as he pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt and placed them on his desk. Despite there being clothes available, she felt like she was forgetting something. "I'll leave you alone in this room with some Chunin guarding the door. Just knock on the door three times when you're ready to leave."

"Thank you." Tenten said with a sigh of relief. When the Hokage left the room and locked it, Tenten looked around. "Alright Tenten, you have a few more minutes before you're human again. What are you gonna do?"

She slithered around the floor for a bit as she made the Konoha symbol on the floor, not really caring about the person who would inevitable have the job of cleaning up her mess while getting used to her slug form.

'Guess I should call it my _Rokubi_ form…' Tenten thought as she glanced down at the tablet around her neck and then the clock. 'Any time now…' She looked around the office more and spotted the pictures of all the previous Hokage above the window.

"Never thought this would happen in your village, huh?" Tenten spoke to the pictures. "A girl who can turn into a slug, a beetle, a fox and six other animal demon things." She then looked at the Fourth Hokage's picture in the dark corner of the ceiling. "And… I really you killed the Kyuubi faster now."

Then, she noticed something strange about the Fourth. She narrowed her eyes as they leaned forward.

'Wow, he kinda looks like Naruto.' Tenten noted as she imagined whisker marks on the Fourth's cheeks. 'I mean, he _really_ looks like Naruto. It's actually kinda freaky actually. I mean, I've seen him textbooks and stuff but most of his pictures were in black and white. Now seeing him in colour…'

"HEY, OLD MAN!? WHAT THE HELL'S WITH THE TEAMS!? WHY AM I STUCK WITH SASUKE-TEME OUT OF ALL PEOPLE!?"

"WHAT THE-!?" Tenten shouted out… just as her transformation timed out. "Na-Naruto!?"

"Huh, Ten-san?" Naruto said as he looked around. "Where's the Old Man and why…" He trailed as soon as he saw Tenten's state of undress and inexplicably covered in slime. He blushed, looked away and stepped back outside before shutting the door.

"Huh?" Tenten let out before looking down. Her face then went fully red as she wiped off the slime off her body and got dressed. She knocked three times on the door and left the office, seeing Naruto stand in the hallway not even glancing at her. "That… That never happened."

"What happened?" Naruto replied. Deciding that it meant he was never going to mention what happened previously unless he wanted to make out with her swords and hammer, she quickly left the Hokage Tower and got to her apartment as fast as possible.

Well, she would've, if she didn't collapse from chakra exhaustion.

 **-101010-**

After getting the all clear from the doctor several days later, Tenten left the hospital to go home and get ready for her first training session with Jiraiya-sensei. She grabbed everything she needed: her scrolls, spare clothes, training kunai and shuriken, a water bottle and as many Soldier Pills as she could carry. She was not going to slack off any time soon. She was going learn how use her braces for the benefit of the village, even if it killed her.

Well, preferably _without_ killing her.

"Okay, Tenten, you can do this." She told herself as she opened the window of her apartment and breathed in the fresh air. She quickly put on her orange jacket and leaped out her window and into air, the feeling the air rush past her as she smiled. She could no longer feel the weight of her braces around her arms, she didn't think about the stares she got as she leaped above the streets, she no longer worried about the world she lived in.

After so long, after so many days... she felt free.

 **-101010-**

She arrived at Training Ground 3 thirty minutes earlier than the time Jiraiya-sensei specified. She didn't see him anywhere, so she guessed she should at least wait until he arrived. She decided to get some training in, she felt like she was getting rusty. She couldn't help but be a bit glad that she collapsed. The day she supposed to train was also the day where they weeded out the graduates of the academy. The only training ground that was available that day was the infamous Forest of Death.

She was pretty sure she dodged a kunai with that one.

She wondered what type of training the Sannin would put her through. Maybe help enhance her chakra reserves, or figure out the rest of the Tailed Beasts she could transform into. Hell, she would've been happy with a village-wide game of hide and seek and she had to use her various forms to find him within the time limit.

But knowing her luck these days, it was probably going to be much worse.

As if on cue, Tenten noticed that it had suddenly gotten dark. She would've wrote it off as a cloud but this was Konoha, where it practically had perfect weather every day. It practically reflected the overall mood of everyone in the village and this village was happy 99.99% of the time.

So, she decided to look up… and immediately regretted it as she saw a shadow of a giant toad in the sky that was rapidly getting bigger by the second.

"Well, this is gonna suck." Tenten simply said before gathering chakra into the palm of her hand. Now, if she were some young, naïve civilian, she would've had a battle cry or at least something to call out when she transformed like "Give me strength", "By the power of the Tailed Beasts", "Going demon" or Kami forbid "Hero Time".

Instead she cried out something a little more appropriate for her situation.

"If I die, I'm gonna kill whoever made these things!" Tenten shouted out before slamming her palm onto a tablet.

Save Game… Quit!

Whew! Done! I'm _really_ getting into Animal Crossing and now I have to go buy goddamn amiboos and an NFC reader. By the way if you wanna send me a spare Villager amiboo my postal address is

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


	4. Chapter 4: Improvement

Okay… Um… I have no idea what I'm doing but a review got me going again. Hey, UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of TentenTen, one of the few fics in the Naruto section that cares about Tenten who isn't in a harem or with Neji. Er… gonna admit, kinda busy with school so this chapter won't see the light of day very soon but considering you're reading it um…

You know what, let's just see if there are reviews worth answering so I can go ahead and start this thing.

To Kerberos314: Yep. That's why I started writing this story in the first place. It is way too often to see the same plot and plot elements over and over again. It can be done well but most of the time I usually skip over them. Sure, I'm not updating as frequently as I like but that's because I'm doing stuff like studying and enjoying my other hobbies. But I always aim to write the highest quality chapters, no matter what. Also, I'd like to mention many people confuse me as American because of my accent and the first 10 years of my life were in front of a TV. To Mokkei: Okay, but I'm kinda stuck on that considering I already wrote that Jiraiya will be around for a week and I am not willing to do a training- Actually, now that I think about it, never mind. Already have something planned now. Also, this fic has character development? To cryo threshold: Yep. That's what I'm planning for the tenth tablet to do: enable Tenten to "scan" anything with unique enough chakra and gain that form… temporarily. You know what the real tenth slot is for. Anyway, that's it! Let's get this story more plot!

Load Game… Start!

Chapter 4: Improvement

When the light died down, Tenten didn't bother to check whatever form she had right now. Her body moved before she could even think to get out of the way of the giant toad that was about to land and crush her.

However… there was the horrible realization that she was still in the same spot. Her body felt _heavy_. She could barely lift one of her legs, let alone walk at a reasonable pace.

"Oh no." Tenten barely managed to get out before the toad landed on her.

"Alright, Tenten, let's see what you can do!" Jiraiya called out before looking around confusingly, having just seen the transforming girl train before making his entrance. "Uh… where are you?"

"Under your stupid frog thing…" Tenten muffled voice came out from under his summon. "Help."

"It's a toad. And sorry." Jiraiya said as he un-summoned the toad, giving him a good look at what form she had now before taking down some notes.

As Tenten shook her head and rubbed her eyes, Jiraiya put down that her form was based on a turtle with a crab-like light grey shell and exposed, pink muscle-like tissue, a pair of human-like legs and arms and completely covered in spikes, though they seemed rather blunt. Jiraiya also noted that her face was covered by spikes coming out of her jaw and forehead, barely revealing her red eye with yellow pupils and, of course, her three shrimp-like tails and tablet around her neck glowing.

"Hm, Sanbi…" The Hermit muttered to himself as he put away he notes as Tenten finally recovered for yet another near-death experience.

"Thank you…" Tenten breathed out. "Why didn't that hurt mo-" She started to wonder out loud, only to stop herself as she finally looked at herself. "Okay… that answers that question…"

"Anyway, ready to train?" Jiraiya asked happily.

"Hold on! I almost got crushed and I can barely walk faster than a rock! Give me a few minutes to get used to this form." Tenten called out. "I swear, I have to label those braces eventually…"

"No time." Jiraiya said as he shook his head. "We only have two weeks to figure out what your forms can do as well as make sure you can function properly before sending you back on the field."

"Sorry, but every time I revert back, my chakra becomes completely exhausted." Tenten explained. "I was hoping you'd help me expand my chakra reserves."

"You can do it in your own time. But right now, the most important thing we need to focus on is what you can do in your forms." Jiraiya said. "I have some knowledge about the Tailed Beasts and what they can do, but I want to focus on what _you_ can do. Hopefully, and more than likely, it will be much weaker than what a real Tailed Beast can do."

"Okay… how do I do that exactly?" Tenten asked as she rubbed the back of her… neck. Did she have a neck? These transformations were making her question her own biology on a daily basis. "Um… Maybe I can…"

With a little bit of effort, she managed to retract her head and limbs into her shell. "Um… that's good I guess…?" Tenten got out… before she started to roll away. "H-Hey! Why am I moving? Why am I moving!? Ah! AH! Helpmehelpmehelpmehelpme!"

"Something tells me this is going to take a while…" Jiraiya sighed out. He could already feel this was enough going to give him a headache… or a new scar.

He had time to figure out what to do with Tenten and how to proceed with learning about her forms, considering she was out for a week. At first, his mind went to the Rasengan. It was based off the Fourth Hokage's research of the Tailed Beast Bomb so it would be a no brainer. However, he immediately discarded the idea.

For one, no way was he teaching her such a destructive jutsu. It was already dangerous it is and he had a feeling she would make a real Beast Bomb and that wouldn't be great for everyone's life expectancy.

Two, her chakra control isn't great and that was basically everything about mastering that jutsu.

Three, it would take a year or so, time they very much didn't have. They needed to make sure she could adequately defend herself by any means necessary by the time the news of the Akuma Braces comes out and he didn't know how long they had until an assassin, or worse, comes after her.

And finally, the Rasengan was the creator's son's inheritance. He was not going to let anyone else learn it until _he_ received what's rightfully his.

So he went ahead and started thinking up new ways to figure out her abilities, and with his spy network's information on the various jinchuriki, it was pretty easy to create tests for Tenten to perform. Now it was time to test them out.

"Alright." Jiraiya said as he stopped and picked up the turtle girl.

"Thank yo-" Tenten managed to get out before being sent hurtling through the air. "AAAHHH! WWWWHHHHHYYYYY!?" She screamed out before landing in a near-by river.

"GAH!" Tenten grunted out as most of the impact was taken to the shell as she quickly sank to the bottom. 'I can't swim like this! I… I can't… I'm gonna drown! I'm gonna drown! I'm…'

"Not… drowning…" Tenten got out, despite logically her lungs should be full of water by now. "I… I can breathe underwater." She realized before looking at her hands and to the surface. 'Right, I'm a tortoise… So that means…' She thought before she began to swim up to the surface.

Then she noticed she was going pretty fast.

Really fast.

 _Too fast._

"WHOA!" Tenten called out as she burst out of the water, ending up high in the air and seeing Jiraiya smiling at her. When she landed, she created a small crater in front of the Hermit. "Ugh…"

"So, what did you learn while in your turtle form?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's… a tortoise." Tenten got before transforming back and falling unconscious.

"Nope, pretty sure it's a turtle." Jiraiya muttered out. "Hm, Tenzo. Based on your observations so far, what do you think?" He asked as the hidden ANBU appeared next to him.

"Well, she doesn't seem to be in danger of losing control, if that's what you're asking for." Tenzo answered.

"For now. But I have to reiterate that those braces may be largely untested. It's a miracle she's able to transform back at all. Let alone transform back into a normal human being rather than an amalgamation of her previous transformations." Jiraiya said.

"Those braces… they're a wonder for sure." The ANBU said.

"Yes… and I'm afraid there might be more like it." Jiraiya admitted. "If it can absorb the chakra of the Tailed Beasts, imagine all the other possibilities that something like it can do."

"…That is a scary thought." Tenzo said.

"Yeah, it is." Jiraiya sighed out. "But I should be focusing on getting her back on her feet, help her improve her chakra and such. I'll help her with her transformations if we ever get to it. You can leave now."

"Jiraiya-sama." Tenzo said before flickering away as the Sannin looked down as the unconscious girl.

"Well, may as well take advantage of the situation." Jiraiya muttered to himself as he threw her over his shoulder before flickering away.

Ugh… if he wasn't a ninja, he would totally look like a kidnapping pedophile right now. He had standards dammit.

Very low standards, mind you, but standards dammit.

(A few hours later…)

She didn't know what was happening.

She didn't know where she was, how she got here, and barely holding on to who she was. All she could feel was her body being pulled in ten different directions, feeling herself getting ripped apart.

And then… it stopped.

Suddenly, she felt warm hands massaging her, comforting her after all the pain that was inflicted on her. Like sitting by a flame on a cold night. Her muscles loosened and her mind drifted off, wanting this feeling to last forever.

And then she woke up, face down on the wood floor.

Tenten shivered a little as she felt something wet and cold on her back before feeling cloth wiping off a little bit of the excess. She could almost see the pattern forming in her head. The room was dark, so she couldn't tell if it was day or night, only the light of candles allowing her to see.

She still had the increasingly and worryingly familiar feeling of chakra exhaustion, but she could feel that it was recovering right now which soothed her. She was also getting used to the fact that she was naked somewhere that wasn't her apartment… maybe.

Hold on…

"Ya… Ah…!" Tenten started to panic as she realized she was in a dark room, naked with someone she probably didn't know drawing something on her back.

"Calm down. It's only me." Jiraiya said as he put the brush down.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Tenten breathed out as she calmed herself down.

"Take a closer look on the seals on your arms and to see if there was more." Jiraiya answered as he lifted up her right arm. "And I gotta say, I'm getting more impressed the more I look at it. How they managed to pull something off like this is beyond my imagination and skill. This should've taken centuries, not a human lifetime, to even create one of these tablets. And yet the creator made ten of these things. Maybe more."

"So… now that you had a closer look, do you think-"

"Sorry, but at this point it is fusing to your skin. I'd probably die if I tried." Jiraiya stopped Tenten before she got her hopes up too high. "I'm guessing in a couple of year's time, it'll be a part of you. Sort of like an artificial Kekkei Genkai. Plus, it isn't perfect."

"What?" Tenten got out, a rush of fear running down her spine.

"It's working for now, but all those seals on you are deteriorating. Rapidly." Jiraiya explained. "I managed to restore them and make them last longer but it's only a temporary solution. We're going to have to find the notes on how the Akuma Braces work. Problem is; the only one who possibly could've helped us with that is dead. For now, you should avoid transforming outside of training until then. Those might be speeding up the deterioration."

"What happens if they break?" Tenten was hesitant in asking that question, afraid of the answer she was going to get.

"Well, one of three things: You either die or you die… painfully." Jiraiya stated bluntly. "Or, you know, nothing at all."

"These things are getting more and more high maintenance every day…" Tenten mumbled to herself.

"Don't worry too much about it. I'll get the Hokage to add sessions with fuinjutsu experts to maintain those seals until we find those notes." Jiraiya said. "Anyway, the ink should be dry now. You can get up."

"What did you put on my back?" Tenten questioned as she sat up, covering her private parts.

"It's just a storage seal so you can have a change of clothes just in case you do transform." Jiraiya explained while he gave her a new set of clothes. "I recommend something cheap and functional. They're probably not going to last long."

"O-Okay. Um, can I go home now?" Tenten asked as she got dressed.

"Yes you can. We're going to switch our focus on your training tomorrow however." Jiraiya said. "We're still going to focus on learning about your abilities while transformed, but I'm also going to have you focus on chakra control and improving how much chakra you have. It's going to be pretty harsh for a genin, but with the time we have it'll have to do."

"Okay… this is going to be a rough week." Tenten sighed out. "But if I learned anything from Guy-sensei, is that I can always improve every second of every day."

"Good. Now get out of here before it gets late." Jiraiya said as he pointed towards the door.

"Hai, Jiraiya-sensei." Tenten replied with a nod before leaving, just in time to see the sun setting over the village. "It's going to get easier, Tenten. It's going to get easier." She told herself as she walked back home.

It was not going to get easier.

(A two week later…)

Tenten fidgeted around nervously in the Hokage's Office as she watched the Third read through the Toad Sannin's report. Jiraiya had left the village yesterday after they trained all night, allowing her to get a real grasp on her other forms. She still didn't know what the hell she was doing most of the time but at the very least she could fight decently enough.

Hopefully, it didn't have to come to it. A few weeks just wasn't enough to truly wield her forms to the fullest. From now on, she was on her own.

"…Well, after a serious amount of consideration…" The Third spoke up, causing Tenten to snap to attention as soon as she heard his voice. "…I deem you ready for active duty as a genin of Konoha once again."

Tenten could help but breathe a sigh of relief. Her heart was going to pound right out of her chest at this rate.

"Is my team out on a mission right now?" Tenten had to ask. Despite the comparatively short amount of time, she still missed the three idiots made up the best close combat rookie team in the village. Not exactly a catchy title but it was true.

"Yes, they are actually." The Hokage informed. "They were sent to a small town near the borders of the Land of Fire. There were reports of a sudden surge of bandits robbing the townspeople so they requested to send a team there and take them out. Nothing that you haven't done before."

"And when are they coming back, Hokage-sama?" Tenten asked.

"I estimate in about a week or so. However, there is something important that requires your assistance." The Hokage informed, surprising Tenten.

"E-Excuse me, Hokage-sama, but why me specifically? I'm not the greatest ninja after all." Tenten had to ask, wondering what situation would need her out of all people in the village.

"Well, it involves more with your braces than you yourself." The Hokage explained. "This mission I'm about to give you may not be the most challenging, but it is in the interest of the safety of the village and yourself that you do not disclose any detail of it to anyone."

"O-Of course, Hokage-sama. I'll never tell a soul." Tenten replied with a determined expression on her face.

"Good, because…" He then puffed his pipe as he gave Tenten a scroll. "We found a match."

"A match?" Tenten asked in confusion as she grabbed the scroll. "Wait, do you mean the guy who was holding the box with these things?" She realized.

"Yes, and that is why you will be escorted to a place forgotten by time, yet still lives on in the smallest way." The Hokage said. "You will be escorted there by two jonin to search and obtain whatever might be connected to the Akuma Braces. While there is a low possibility, it's our lead right now. All the information and other details you need are in that scroll. You must burn it as soon as you are finished."

"But… Can I ask where am I going so I can prepare?" Tenten asked.

"Yes." The Hokage said as he gave her a serious look. "This land does not exist anymore, and there is no longer a living soul there. It had a hidden village that even the best of shinobi trembled at the name before it was destroyed."

"You are going to the Land of Whirlpools. To _Uzushiogakure_!"

Save Game… Quit!

Yep. That's going to be a thing I have to write, and I have next to no clue what's going to happen. This is basically a story where I am just making stuff up as I go along.

UknownHero signing off, my friends!


End file.
